Barshasketh/Outre – Sein/Zeit – Split (Review)

Barshasketh and Outre are both black metal bands. The former are from the UK and the latter are from Poland.

Having met Barshasketh before on their split with Void Ritual, I was eager to hear their contribution to this release.

Said contribution takes the form of an eight minute track named Being, (Sein). This is second wave-influenced occult black metal, steeped in misanthropic vibes and razor-sharp riffs.

It’s a very enjoyable song, with more than enough well-written elements to easily hold attention throughout. The high-pitched screams are well-performed, and the blackened melodies of the guitars quickly cut to the meat of the matter.

Very enjoyable.

Outre released an extremely impressive album in 2015’s Ghost Chants, so it’s a pleasure to be able to catch up with them once more on this split.

Here they offer up two songs lasting nine minutes in total. The first is a new song named Time, (Zeit), while the second is a cover of an Armagedda song – Only True Believers.

Time is sophisticated, slightly atypical black metal. Taking from eras both old and new, Outre forge their way through the black metal landscape with confidence and no small talent for crafting individualistic music. Fast and aggressive, this is almost six minutes of fiery intensity, while still having enough mood and atmosphere to satisfy. It seems that Outre have lost none of their ability to impress.

The Armagedda cover song is brief and to the point. It’s some old-school blackened nastiness, and very good it is too.